WE ARE CTA

325,000 MEMBERS STRONG

December 2010

Local CCA chapters successful in electing faculty-friendly candidates as trustees

Volume 46 Number 2

CTA campaign funding plays important role

CCA chapters around the state successfully elected candidates to their boards of trustees, thanks in part to funds they received through CTA’s Association for Better Citizenship (ABC).

Among them were chapters at Imperial Valley College, Merced College, San Bernardino Community College District, South Orange County, Riverside, Coast College, Southwestern and Victor Valley.

Record amount

In total, ABC, CTA’s Political Action Committee, provided community college chapters with a record amount of $103,000 for their individual campaigns. CCA chapters have become increasingly involved in applying for the funding as more realize the importance of electing faculty-friendly boards, according to Joan Sholars, the higher education representative on the ABC committee.

The ABC Committee is the political action arm of CTA, providing campaign funding for our local affiliates. Meeting several times a year, the ABC committee screens applications from local chapters for campaign funding that can be used for mailings, advertisements and other costs of a local campaign. Members of the ABC Committee are elected by State Council.

“The ABC committee can provide valuable seed money for printing and mailing costs, which in many cases, can make a difference in an election,” Sholars said.

Precinct walking

That much was clear to Gaylla Finnell, president of the Imperial Valley College CCA chapter, which received $2,000 from the ABC committee. “We won!” Finnell said. “Our two candidates were elected - unseating two incumbents. With the added funding, we were able to do precinct walking and additional promotions before the election, which made the difference in our campaign”

The San Bernardino Community College District CCA chapter was also successful in re-electing a friendly incumbent and adding a new member to the board.

“Thanks to ABC monies we were successful, yet again,” said chapter President Ed Gomez. “We now have six of the seven board members working for the better good.”

The Victor Valley College Faculty Association’s two candidates unseated two unfriendly incumbents. The association received $9,000 from the CTA ABC committee.

“We couldn’t have done it without the ABC funds for our VVCFA Political Action Committee,” said Michael Smith, CCA board member representing Victor Valley. “We are positively giddy at the promise of our first ever faculty-friendly board majority.”

Change in political weather

The South Orange County Community College District Faculty Association was also successful in getting the two incumbents and one new candidate elected.

“The successful campaign in our district is likely to produce a significant weather change in our relationship with the Board of Trustees, most immediately in our on-going contract negotiations,” said Lewis Long, president of the chapter.

Sholars urges chapters with board elections looming in 2011 to begin by starting a local Political Action Committee, and recruiting faculty friendly candidates to run.